Re: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy
There was an article in Ham Radio magazine describing a variation of this method of silver plating. It was in the mid 1980's. The method involves attaching the negative lead of the DC current source to the piece to be plated. The positive side is connected to a carbon rod with a sponge wrapped around it. The rod/sponge is dipped into the used fixer, then slowly wiped along the piece to be plated, where it deposits silver. It takes patience and a bit of practice but I silver plated the tank circuit in a 1 kW 2 meter amplifier and got a small (but worthwhile for what I was doing) improvement in efficiency and power output. Paul N1BUG George Henry wrote: It's actually used photographic FIXER that contains a lot of free silver... the fixer removes any unexposed silver in the film emulsion. For many years I recovered the silver from my fixer by adding powdered zinc, which will dissolve more easily in the solution than silver will, causing the silver to precipitate out. Collected over 28 ounces over the years. His method of silver plating probably involved connecting the negative lead of a low-voltage source to the can, filling it with used fixer, and then suspending a zinc electrode in the solution, connected to the positive lead. The zinc goes into solution, and the silver, instead of precipitating out, plates out onto the can. If the fixer is sufficiently loaded with silver (exhausted, in photo-speak), it will plate out on copper without any current source, but adding the batteries will speed things up result in a thicker layer of silver. George, KA3HSW From: cecil ferguson ke4...@bellsouth.net mailto:ke4nna%40bellsouth.net To: Repeater Builder Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com mailto:Repeater-Builder%40yahoogroups.com Sent: Mon, July 12, 2010 7:08:36 AM Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy A couple of years back, in an exchange with an engineer from Texas Instrument Germany, who is working in Freising, Barvaria, I was told of a cheap and easy silver plating procedure he uses on his duplexers. He uses Photographic Developer (which has a really high level of 'free silver') and a simple one or two cell power source = 1.5 to 3.0 volts. (While not discussed, I would suggest that 'used fluid' may be better than new and may be obtained very cheaply). This should be an ideal solution for the DIYers in our group. If interested, why not contact Hans-Juergan Schott directly at h-scho...@ti. com ? This should be an interesting topic for our Tecnical Info page as well. Hans-Juergan, if you are monitoring, pls forward this procedure to us as I think many of us would be interested. Tnx. 73 to all, Cecil E (Gene) Ferguson. W4FWG Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: repeater-builder-dig...@yahoogroups.com repeater-builder-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: repeater-builder-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Re: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy
Paul N1BUG wrote.. There was an article in Ham Radio magazine describing a variation of this method of silver plating. It was in the mid 1980's. The method involves attaching the negative lead of the DC current source to the piece to be plated. The positive side is connected to a carbon rod with a sponge wrapped around it. The rod/sponge is dipped into the used fixer, then slowly wiped along the piece to be plated, where it deposits silver. It takes patience and a bit of practice but I silver plated the tank circuit in a 1 kW 2 meter amplifier and got a small (but worthwhile for what I was doing) improvement in efficiency and power output. Good fishing !!, or is your memory that good:) I poked Ham Radio magazine into Google and found a few articles on silver plating in this list: http://webhome.idirect.com/~griffith/hr/hrind05.htm Now, here's the Million Dollar question.. where are these articles archived ?? 73 John/VK4JKL IRLP 6163
Re: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy
JG wrote: Good fishing !!, or is your memory that good:) I poked Ham Radio magazine into Google and found a few articles on silver plating in this list: http://webhome.idirect.com/~griffith/hr/hrind05.htm Safe, Sensible Silverplating ... that rings a bell! That is the one I was thinking of. Feb 1985. Hmm. My guess of mid 1980s wasn't too far off the mark. Now if only I knew what I did yesterday. :-) Now, here's the Million Dollar question.. where are these articles archived ?? Nowhere that I know of. I wish I had saved that article, and would like to read the earlier ones on silverplating too. Actually I did save that issue for years but eventually lost track of it. May still be in a forgotten/buried box from my last move... Paul N1BUG Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: repeater-builder-dig...@yahoogroups.com repeater-builder-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: repeater-builder-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Re: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy
On 7/14/2010 6:37 AM, N1BUG wrote: JG wrote: Good fishing !!, or is your memory that good:) I poked Ham Radio magazine into Google and found a few articles on silver plating in this list: http://webhome.idirect.com/~griffith/hr/hrind05.htm Safe, Sensible Silverplating ... that rings a bell! That is the one I was thinking of. Feb 1985. Hmm. My guess of mid 1980s wasn't too far off the mark. Now if only I knew what I did yesterday. :-) Now, here's the Million Dollar question.. where are these articles archived ?? Nowhere that I know of. ARRL sells the complete archive on CD. $60 http://www.arrl.org/shop/Ham-Radio-CD-ROM-1984-1990/ -- mailto:o...@ozindfw.netOz POB 93167 Southlake, TX 76092 (Near DFW Airport) Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: repeater-builder-dig...@yahoogroups.com repeater-builder-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: repeater-builder-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Re: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy
Thanks for the info George. Yes, the use of the word developer was most likely my bad. I did processing in my teen years, had my own darkroom and while writting the below, I was thinking of Hypo. Bbut then a lot has changed in the past 70 years since my developing days and I assumed things may have changed and the process along with it. Your thoughts are appreciated and I'll file this away for future use. Thanks and 73 Gene --- On Mon, 7/12/10, George Henry ka3...@att.net wrote: From: George Henry ka3...@att.net Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, July 12, 2010, 1:53 PM It's actually used photographic FIXER that contains a lot of free silver... the fixer removes any unexposed silver in the film emulsion. For many years I recovered the silver from my fixer by adding powdered zinc, which will dissolve more easily in the solution than silver will, causing the silver to precipitate out. Collected over 28 ounces over the years. His method of silver plating probably involved connecting the negative lead of a low-voltage source to the can, filling it with used fixer, and then suspending a zinc electrode in the solution, connected to the positive lead. The zinc goes into solution, and the silver, instead of precipitating out, plates out onto the can. If the fixer is sufficiently loaded with silver (exhausted, in photo-speak), it will plate out on copper without any current source, but adding the batteries will speed things up result in a thicker layer of silver. George, KA3HSW From: cecil ferguson ke4...@bellsouth.net To: Repeater Builder Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com Sent: Mon, July 12, 2010 7:08:36 AM Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy A couple of years back, in an exchange with an engineer from Texas Instrument Germany, who is working in Freising, Barvaria, I was told of a cheap and easy silver plating procedure he uses on his duplexers. He uses Photographic Developer (which has a really high level of 'free silver') and a simple one or two cell power source = 1.5 to 3.0 volts. (While not discussed, I would suggest that 'used fluid' may be better than new and may be obtained very cheaply). This should be an ideal solution for the DIYers in our group. If interested, why not contact Hans-Juergan Schott directly at h-scho...@ti. com ? This should be an interesting topic for our Tecnical Info page as well. Hans-Juergan, if you are monitoring, pls forward this procedure to us as I think many of us would be interested. Tnx. 73 to all, Cecil E (Gene) Ferguson. W4FWG
[Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy
A couple of years back, in an exchange with an engineer from Texas Instrument Germany, who is working in Freising, Barvaria, I was told of a cheap and easy silver plating procedure he uses on his duplexers. He uses Photographic Developer (which has a really high level of 'free silver') and a simple one or two cell power source = 1.5 to 3.0 volts. (While not discussed, I would suggest that 'used fluid' may be better than new and may be obtained very cheaply). This should be an ideal solution for the DIYers in our group. If interested, why not contact Hans-Juergan Schott directly at h-scho...@ti.com ? This should be an interesting topic for our Tecnical Info page as well. Hans-Juergan, if you are monitoring, pls forward this procedure to us as I think many of us would be interested. Tnx. 73 to all, Cecil E (Gene) Ferguson. W4FWG
Re: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy
It's actually used photographic FIXER that contains a lot of free silver... the fixer removes any unexposed silver in the film emulsion. For many years I recovered the silver from my fixer by adding powdered zinc, which will dissolve more easily in the solution than silver will, causing the silver to precipitate out. Collected over 28 ounces over the years. His method of silver plating probably involved connecting the negative lead of a low-voltage source to the can, filling it with used fixer, and then suspending a zinc electrode in the solution, connected to the positive lead. The zinc goes into solution, and the silver, instead of precipitating out, plates out onto the can. If the fixer is sufficiently loaded with silver (exhausted, in photo-speak), it will plate out on copper without any current source, but adding the batteries will speed things up result in a thicker layer of silver. George, KA3HSW From: cecil ferguson ke4...@bellsouth.net To: Repeater Builder Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com Sent: Mon, July 12, 2010 7:08:36 AM Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap Easy A couple of years back, in an exchange with an engineer from Texas Instrument Germany, who is working in Freising, Barvaria, I was told of a cheap and easy silver plating procedure he uses on his duplexers. He uses Photographic Developer (which has a really high level of 'free silver') and a simple one or two cell power source = 1.5 to 3.0 volts. (While not discussed, I would suggest that 'used fluid' may be better than new and may be obtained very cheaply). This should be an ideal solution for the DIYers in our group. If interested, why not contact Hans-Juergan Schott directly at h-scho...@ti. com ? This should be an interesting topic for our Tecnical Info page as well. Hans-Juergan, if you are monitoring, pls forward this procedure to us as I think many of us would be interested. Tnx. 73 to all, Cecil E (Gene) Ferguson. W4FWG
